Chapter 420: Summoning Order and Devil Fruits

My current physical strength is around 47,000 kilograms.

I'm just over 10,000 kilograms short of the minimum standard for Junior God of War: 64,000 kilograms.

With the power of Dragon Blood, I can easily cross this abyss and become a God of War!

He took off his clothes and tossed them aside, then carefully pulled out the stopper.

He poured the golden liquid from the test tube into his palm and smeared the Dragon Blood onto his lower abdomen.

With his mastery over his body, since his first punch strength test,

after calculating how much force 1 kilogram represented for him, he no longer needed the punch strength tester.

As he smelled the peculiar fragrance drifting from the test tube, even areas not touched by the Dragon Blood felt faintly tingling and numb,

Zhang Zhang Jie felt joy rise in his heart—he could feel his physical condition improving.

After several minutes, the area where he'd applied the Dragon Blood erupted into a searing heat that spread throughout his entire body.

Zhang Zhang Jie knew this was the natural diffusion effect of the Dragon Blood, so he smeared the rest of it across his torso.

He tossed the empty test tube back into the black alloy box, then lay flat on the ground,

waiting for his skin to fully absorb the Dragon Blood's power.

Slowly, the heat throughout Zhang Zhang Jie's body grew fiercer, like molten lava.

His skin turned crimson, and every part of him felt as if torn apart, as if billions of ants were gnawing at his flesh.

As time passed, the pain intensified rather than lessened—from the sensation of billions of ants devouring every inch of skin and muscle,

it evolved into the feeling of being burned by legendary Dragon Flame capable of incinerating mountains and boiling seas.

Waves of intense, unrelenting agony battered Zhang Zhang Jie's nerves.

"Strong enough!"

Zhang Zhang Jie didn't collapse under the agony; instead, he grinned.

How could one gain great power without enduring painful trials?

Amid the pain, the Dragon Blood's energy seeped into every part of Zhang Zhang Jie's body, comprehensively strengthening and optimizing his muscles,

bones, and cells, purging impurities.

Enduring this agony that would make an ordinary person scream, Zhang Zhang Jie savored the thrill of his power surging upward.

…

Over an hour later.

Zhang Zhang Jie's blood-red skin returned to normal, and the golden liquid smeared on his skin was fully absorbed.

"Didn't expect Dragon Blood could change my skin tone."

He raised his arm, gazing at his skin now a healthy, sun-kissed bronze, vibrant and full of life, and chuckled.

"Changing skin tone? Just a joke. Now it's time to see the Dragon Blood's true power."

Zhang Zhang Jie set aside his jest, his arm strong yet lean,

the sleek, flowing muscles stretching and contracting as he estimated his current strength.

A smile appeared on his face: "Around 189,000 kilograms,

more than four times my previous 47,000 kilograms!"

Zhang Zhang Jie was overjoyed—180,000 to nearly 190,000 kilograms of punch strength

already surpassed the Intermediate God of War standard of 128,000 kilograms,

and was only tens of thousands of kilograms away from the Advanced God of War's 256,000 kilograms.

If combined with his terrifying combat power multiplier, he could likely claim invincibility among Gods of War!

"Didn't expect Dragon Blood would affect me this much."

Zhang Zhang Jie sat cross-legged, stroking his chin with his right hand, lost in thought.

According to the martial arts school's data, Dragon Blood's effect is most pronounced on Martial Artists and War Generals,

while for Gods of War, its effect diminishes significantly—not that it does nothing,

but typically only boosts strength by a few thousand kilograms.

His original goal had been merely to use Dragon Blood to break through the barrier between Advanced War General and Junior God of War,

becoming a God of War with considerable status across the entire Blue Planet.

But Dragon Blood's effect far exceeded his expectations—it propelled him past Junior God of War entirely,

making him an elite among Intermediate Gods of War,

just a few steps away from Advanced God of War.

"This must be the difference in talent."

Zhang Zhang Jie pondered long and hard, finally attributing it to talent.

Only geniuses achieve rapid power growth with minimal resources.

Those who consume colossal resources yet progress slower than turtles crawling are not geniuses.

Of course, worlds like "Shade Heaven," where one seeks invincibility within the same realm—even if it requires thousands or tens of thousands of times more resources than peers—is an exception,

as long as they cultivate the "Invincible Mind" buff, it counts as victory.

Though his original talent was terrible, with the accumulated enhancements from other Zhang Jies and various martial arts that improved his innate quality,

he could still be considered a minor genius.

Zhang Zhang Jie flipped his palm, and a small sphere of Black God Gear materialized in his hand:

"With Black God Gear and Intermediate God of War strength,

my plan is nearly foolproof."

The surge of power made Zhang Zhang Jie raise a flag.

"Forget it—better not raise flags. Stability comes first."

Zhang Zhang Jie, ever the cautious man, quelled his inner arrogance.

Zhang Zhang Jie, who had always been a cautious man, suppressed the swelling in his heart.

He gently sliced a small cut on his finger with qi, forcing out a single drop of blood—dense as lead-mercury,

crystal-clear like the finest ruby—and let it fall onto the Black God Gear.

As the blood touched the gear, it came alive,

swiftly seeping and spreading across his body until it fused with his flesh.

The Black God Gear's bonding method carried the flavor of cultivation worlds: blood oath.

Of course, the Black God Gear was ultimately a technological product—

this was simply it absorbing the owner's DNA to complete the bonding process.

Once bonded, the Black God Gear was tightly linked to its master; detachment occurred in only two ways:

one, the master's death; two, the master actively commanding the gear to expel the absorbed blood, causing it to detach automatically.

One, the master dies; two, the master actively controls the suit to expel the absorbed blood, causing it to automatically detach from the body.

Zhang Zhang Jie thought, and the nanite particles composing the Black God Gear instantly surfaced and reconfigured,

transforming into his usual casual attire.

"Finally feel a bit safer."

With the Black God Gear, impervious even to King-level monsters, protecting him, Zhang Zhang Jie—who'd lived in constant dread since learning this world was "Devouring Starry Sky"—

finally felt a sliver of security.

"Now, it's time to rewrite my bottom-rank status."

Filled with resentment over being ranked #201 on the Black Dragon Leaderboard,

Zhang Zhang Jie rose and strode purposefully toward the Nine-Story Tower.

"The Black Dragon Leaderboard update is coming soon—I must change this reality,

or else I'll be laughed to death by the other Zhang Jies in the shared space."

Determined not to let his bottom-rank history haunt him, Zhang Zhang Jie decided to take action.

Now, here's an explanation of the Elite Training Camp's Black Dragon Leaderboard update rules:

The Black Dragon Leaderboard updates monthly; from the 1st to the 28th, students compete to earn points.

On the 29th, results are tallied to determine the monthly final rankings.

At the start of the next month, all students' points are reset to zero, beginning a new round of competition.

This update rule ensures no student can rest on past laurels—everyone must strive continuously.

This update rule ensures that no student can rest on their laurels; every student must strive hard.